Baby, It's You
by Nymphean
Summary: Fourth installment in the 'Tis the Season' story arc. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes... well, you all get it. Severus and Harry get a surprising new addition to their family unit. Slash. Not Mpreg. Rated for future content.


A/N: This is, for now, the fourth installment of the 'Tis the season' story arc. There may be others in the future that come before this one in the timeline, but for now, this is what there is. This particular chapter is only the prologue, really. It introduces a new central character into the lives of our favorite couple. There will be several new characters throughout the course of this fic. Pay attention, because this part is important: None of these characters are Mary Sues, nor are they any sort of delusional self-insertion crap. I hate that… if you want that stuff, read my earlier fan fiction, it's rampant in that. Everyone does it, but I promise not to in this fic.

I realize that some of you who've enjoyed the last three fics in this arc might be disappointed at this. I'm sorry, but it no longer centers entirely around Harry and Severus' relationship. One reason for this is that they're getting older, and they're settling into marriage, and as wonderful as it would be for them, can you imagine if your parents acted like newlyweds all the damn time? Ick. Old marrieds just shouldn't do that too often. Another reason is that I can no longer write Severus without thinking of my new kitten, an adorable black fluff ball, aptly named Severus Septimus (after the black emperor of Rome, of course). This makes sex scenes awkward. God damn it, why do I never think these things through?

Anyway, this is different than it's predecessors, but I'm really starting to like it. This is, as I mentioned, only the prologue. I have the first chapter written, and I'll have it out once I'm back from my vacation (four days starting tomorrow lounging beside my rich aunt's pool. May not sound like much of a holiday, but you forget that I don't have air conditioning. As a very wise demon once said, "no pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater than central air"). Until then, enjoy, and please feel free to riddle me with questions, comments and suggestions. I love incorporating new ideas.

Well, cheerio, all. Please enjoy responsibly!

-N

Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, not mine. If they were, there'd be a lot of kids growing up who suddenly support gay marriage (damn you Bush! Damn you Steven Harper!)

WARNING: SLASH! AND SMALL SCREAMY THINGS!

Baby, It's You 

_…It doesn't matter what they say _

_I know I'm gonna love you any old way _

_What can I do, then it's true _

_Don't want nobody, nobody _

_Cause baby it's you _

_Baby it's you_…

"Severus?" As my narrowed eyes skim over the debris, searching for his familiar form, I take in the sheer gravity of the situation. I look up and down the cluttered main street of the little wizarding town of Hogsmeade, remembering all too well the last time I stood in this very spot amidst ruins. It was the day we took down the Dark Lord, the day the wizarding world was set free. Voldemort and his Death Eaters were abolished, for the most part, but to this day, over ten years after the Dark Lord's defeat, there are those who attempt to avenge him. Today is a perfect example of this.

"Severus?" My voice rises to a slightly panicked note. My husband of two years is nowhere to be found. At thirty years old, I've seen many terrifying things, but the thought that Severus might be seriously hurt in some way is enough to make me feel weak and vulnerable. Barely ten minutes ago, I was in my office grading papers when Minerva alerted me of the attack in Hogsmeade, and now I've arrived here to find that Severus and the sixth year Ravenclaw potions students that he was chaperoning on this outing are nowhere to be found, and there is a big hole in the middle of town. Beside me, Minerva draws her wand, and Albus shakes his head.

From behind the pile of rubble that used to be Honeydukes come the distinctive chatter of anxious students, and we watch as, one by one, they climb out from behind the broken walls of the shop. Varinia Vector rushes towards her students. She stops in front of a tall, black-haired girl wearing a prefect's badge.

"Medea, what happened?"

"It was a tall man with long blonde hair," The girl says, relatively calm despite the situation. "He apparated right in front of us in the middle of the street. He and Professor Snape had some sort of confrontation- they seemed to know each other- and then they started dueling. I didn't know many of the curses."

Varinia looks back at Minerva, Albus and I. "All this," She gestures at the ruined buildings, "Happened because a duel between two wizards?"

"No. There were others… five of six. They started blowing up the buildings. Professor Snape managed to take about half of them down before the blond man and the rest disappeared. They took their fallen with them."

"Were they killed?" Varinia looks slightly horrified.

"Stunned and petrified, mostly. But fairly badly injured." The four of us professors breathe a collective sigh of relief.

"Medea, take the rest of your class back to the castle and go immediately to your dormitories. All of you should wait for me there." She turns back to us. "Well, what do you think?"

"Lucius Malfoy," I say, without hesitation. And then I remember my husband. I am about to call out for him again when I hear a scrambling sound from behind me.

"Harry?" I turn around at the sound of my name. Across the street, emerging from a half-broken building, is Severus. His robes are covered in dust, he's limping slightly and he's bleeding profusely from a gash across his cheek, but other than that, he seems to be fine. He's carrying something in his arms, but I can't see what it is. I rush over to him.

_I love you, I was so worried, I'm so glad you're all right,_ are only a few of the lesser things that I'm thinking at this moment. "You're bleeding," is what I say instead.

"It's nothing," He says dismissively. It is then that I look down at the bundle in his arms and realize what he is holding. I gasp in shock.

Severus' dusty cloak is wrapped tightly around something tiny and… alive. The bundle wriggles, and the cloak falls away to reveal a tiny, dust-covered face. Two big streaks are marked in the dust where tears have been flowing from tiny eyes. The tiny, red mouth opens, and a sudden wail is let forth from not-so-tiny lungs.

"Oh my god," I whisper, not knowing quite what to say or do.

"I found her underneath a broken window casing," Severus says quietly. "She was barely breathing. Her parents were trapped beneath a falling wall."

"Are they…"

"Dead." Severus confirms. I look back down into the tiny, red face. Albus, Minevera and Varinia have been drawn towards us by the screaming, and they are now crowded around too.

"Harry, I want you to take Severus and the child back to the castle." Severus moves to protest, hating the thought of being supervised, even by me, but Albus raises a hand and stops him. "When you get there, send back at least three professors to help us comb the town for survivors and victims. Do not say anything to the students… we don't need anyone panicking."

I nod and take Severus' arm, looking up at him admonishingly when he winces at the touch. "You're hurt worse than you're letting on," I whisper sharply, and Severus rolls his eyes. I'm not likely to get a response to that, and I know it.

"Six dead," I say wearily as I step through the door to Severus and my chambers that night. "Eleven wounded… eleven civilians, twelve if we count you." Severus walks towards me and wraps his arms comfortingly around my waist. "Albus and Vari managed to track down the Malfoy and the Death eaters… they're in custody."

"You had to go back and help, didn't you?" He says chastisingly. "Bloody Gryffindor."

"You're one to talk… fighting Lucius Malfoy and five Death Eaters single-handedly." I look up into my husbands face. "I know being married to me is awful, but I didn't seriously think you wanted out that badly." Severus rolls his eyes dismissively. "But honestly, Sev," I say, dropping my cool demeanor. "Do you know how utterly stupid you were back there?"

We make eye contact, and he sees the anxiety in my eyes. "You're really shaken up over this, aren't you?" I nod, and his grip on me tightens. "Don't worry, Harry… I can take care of myself." I tighten a hand around his bruised arm, and he flinches.

"Oh can you?" It makes me angry that Severus never thinks of his own safety, and I am about to tell him so when a loud, piercing wail comes from the direction of our bedroom, making me jump back about a foot.

"What _is_ that?" I ask, as Severus mutters some curses under his breath and takes off towards the bedroom door. He doesn't bother to answer me, but I realize just exactly what the source of the awful noise is when he appears again, carrying a small, writhing bundle of Slytherin-green blankets. I rush over to my husband.

"What is it dong here?" I ask, frantic. Severus doesn't pay me any attention, opting instead to glare at the baby, possibly in hopes of making her cease her horrible screaming. It's not working. "You're scaring it," I say, taking the baby from his arms. The screaming gets louder, and I immediately hold it out towards Severus again. "Take it back, take it back!"

Severus grabs the screaming bundle, holds her so that his face is level with hers, looks her calmly in the eye and says, "Stop this at once." There is a hitch in the baby's screaming as she eyes Severus, and then she begins to wail again, with only a slight decrease in volume. Sev sighs heavily. "Harry, go to my storeroom and get the large blue teardrop-shaped bottle at the back of the top shelf in the far left corner. And hurry." I run towards the huge room containing my husband's many potions and, after about five minutes of searching through the scores of bottles on top shelf, I finally come across the one I'm looking for and run back out into the room where Severus is still standing in the same place holding the little orphan girl. I stop in my tracks, taking in the scene. The child has stopped screaming, and my husband is swaying slowly back and forth, looking down at the bundle in his arms as his rocks her gently, a concerned, almost pitying expression on his face. I walk over to them, clasping the bottle in my hand.

"Shh," Sev says quietly as I come near.

"She stopped crying," I whisper, stunned. Severus nods slowly, his brow creased. His eyes don't leave the tiny face that peaks out from beneath the folds of the blanket. I lean in the get my first real look at the baby girl. Her eyes, slightly shiny from crying, are wide open and staring up at Severus and I. The dark violet blue irises take up most of her eyes. Her tiny red mouth is pursed as if in deep thought. A shock of black hair peeks out from underneath the blanket.

"Hi," I say to the baby, instantly feeling foolish. Sev looks over at me in surprise. "Sorry," I say sheepishly.

"Why?" Severus looks back at the baby. "Someone has to talk to her, or she'll never learn how to speak."

I look from my husband to the baby. "I wonder what her name is," I say absently. Severus frowns again.

"We'll probably never know." I look up into my husband's face. He's pensive, and I can tell that there's something very serious and important going through his head. The pit of my stomach drops out.

"What?" I say fearfully. He gives me a look.

"I didn't say anything," He replies, looking back at the sleeping child. I furrow my brow.

"I know, and believe it or not that's what's worrying me." I follow Severus as he heads back towards our bedroom, and take note that there is a small cradle in the corner. He puts the baby into her crib and the turns to face me, motioning silently for me to go back out of the room. Once we're both outside and the door is closed, he turns back to me, arms crossed.  
"Well?"

I fix him with a level gaze. "Severus, why is there a baby in our bedroom?" He rolls his eyes.

"Everybody else was out combing Hogsmeade for bodies—including you—and I was the only person around who was willing to look after the brat. Apparently if you find a child in a heap of rubble she's automatically your responsibility."

"Oh. My. God." I say incredulously, staring at Severus wide-eyed.

"What?" He says irritably, unable to meet my eye. I have to fight to keep my jaw from dropping.

"You _like_ her, don't you?" A slow grin begins to spread across my face. Severus gives me a scandalized look.

"Don't be idiotic. You think it's _fun_ playing nanny to a screaming infant?" Severus busies himself with straightening up his desk. I put one hand on my hip and stare at him until he looks up, fully annoyed. "Oh, _what?_ You're absolutely--"

"I'm absolutely right is what I am," I say, grinning from ear to ear. "I think I may have just found your soft spot." He rolls his eyes.

"You found my soft spot twelve years ago, you insufferable brat. Don't you have anything better to do than watch me sort out my desk?"

"I'm not done talking with you," I say. I'm thoroughly enjoying this. Severus has always maintained that he hates children. This is absolutely perfect. "When you were holding her, you had this look on your face…"

"Disgust at the fact that I was holding a creature that soils itself and then cries until someone cleans it for them, most likely."

"No, it was nowhere near disgust," I reply. "Sev, I think you have a weakness for babies."

"I do not."

I shake my head, smiling slightly. "Don't try to fool me, Sev, I'm the only one you can't fool." I cross my arms over my chest. "You like that baby."

Severus rolls his eyes. "I merely respect any female that hasn't been alive long enough to become an insidious wench."

I shake my head. "Come on, Sev. That has to be the most miserable excuse I've ever heard from you, other than 'We can't… you're my student'"

"_That_ was valid, thank you."

"Not so valid that we couldn't ignore it, though." I grin impishly at my husband. "And I'll ask to refrain from changing the subject."

"Yes Professor Potter." He rolls his eyes once more as I grab hold of the front of his robes.

"Don't look so dour, Sev, it's not the end of the world if you like this baby," I say soothingly, knowing I've teased him enough for now, and pull him towards me. He glares down at me, and I shake my head. "You can act as angry as you like, but I know it's all a show." I press against him, and then chuckle. "Hm… a BIG show, it would seem." Sev utters a feral growl and suddenly I'm being shoved backwards. I land with a thud on the sofa, with Severus on top of me.

"Shut your mouth, brat," He mutters before capturing my lips in a bruising kiss. I relish in the feeling of his body on top of mine, restraining me, pushing me further and further into the sofa cushions.

"Severus…" I breath as he releases my lips. His hands are pushing my hips down, and he holds himself up, away from me. "Come back," I say, need clear in my voice. My husband shoots me an evil look.

"And why should I do that?"

"I'll make it worth your while," I say quickly, breathing hard. One kiss and he's already got me begging. You'd think time would have made me more patient. "Please…" He rolls his eyes heavenward.

"Bloody Gryffindor," He says, lowering himself back on top of me. I moan quietly as he rubs his groin against mine.

"Thank you…"

"My pleasure, love."

Moments later, we're stripped of our robes and he's inside me. Every time, I marvel at how this has stayed the same throughout our years together. One would think that things such as lovemaking become predictable, almost routine, with time. Maybe it happens that way for other couples. But not for us. I still get dizzy and giddy at the thought of being this close with Severus, I'm still caught off guard by what our passion feels like. And afterwards, I still lay comatose with him, wondering how, exactly, I managed to get so incredibly lucky.

Somehow, in the midst of our lovemaking, we managed to switch positions. I am now laying on top of him, sated, placing sporadic kisses on his chest. Severus is laying with his eyes closed, a faint smile on his lips. I reach towards his face and brush my fingertips around the gash on his cheek. "God, Sev. When I think of how--"

"No," He says, cutting me off. His eyes are still closed. "Let's not talk about it. I'm not going anywhere."

I feel trapped in this ridiculous cycle, the one where I admit my deepest fears to my husband and he dismisses them as unfounded and silly. I'm about to express my discontent with this when a long, loud wail comes from the direction of our bedroom. Severus and I look at each other for a moment before he sighs, gives me a look that comes close to being apologetic, and lifts me off of him, freeing himself from underneath me. He tosses me my robe before throwing on his own and takes off for he bedroom.

Stupid baby.

"There's something you're not telling me." My husband swivels from his work at the back of the Potions lab to face me. I'm standing in the doorway making what I know must be an impressive and daunting picture, even to the Great Git of Slytherin, Severus Snape. I tap my toe, waiting for him to deny my allegation.

"Well?" He says expectantly. "Are you going to tell me just what, exactly, I am keeping from you?"

"I had rather thought you might, actually." I can tell by the sarcastic little snort that he's about to do no such thing. I step into the empty classroom and shut the door behind me. "But, since you seem hell-bent on being obtuse…"

"Always."

"…I might as well out with it." I am now leaning against the long counter on which my husband's bubbling cauldron sits. "You haven't made any attempt to locate her kin. I went to see Albus today while you were teaching to see what progress had been made, and instead of a list of names and addresses, he handed me a list of _adoption agencies!_" I raise one eyebrow and fix a sharp gaze on Severus. "Care to explain?"

For a few moments, Severus says nothing. He continues to stir his potion. Five, ten, fifteen minutes. We've done this before, sometimes for hours; when Severus is at an important stage in brewing a potion he absolutely refuses to become ensconced in an important discussion. Finally, he turns away from the cauldron and faces me, a resigned look on his face.

"What do you want me to say, Harry?"

I cross my arms. "How about telling me why there is a baby living with _us_, out of all the people in Hogwarts, and why Albus seems to think it a good idea for us to adopt her instead of even trying to locate her next of kin."

Severus sighs. "It's not that simple."

"Oh? And Why not?"

"Because I made…" He yells, and then breathes in deeply. "Sorry… because I made a promise." I know why he's apologizing… Severus and I both have a habit of taking out our frustration on each other, and we agree that it is neither right nor fair. His yelling at me was unjustified.

"A promise? Who to?" I ask the questions gently this time, without any sarcasm. I know he's already very agitated over this, and I haven't been helping much.

"Her parents."

"Her… I thought you said they were…"

"Dead. They are." He purses his lips. "But they weren't when I… when I found them."

"Oh Sev…" I feel awful now for being so sardonic. I had simply assumed the baby was the only one alive when Sev stumbled on the ruins of the family's home.

"It's alright," He says gruffly, "I've seen worse. The father was just expiring, but the Mother…" He sighs slightly. "She was pinned by the wall… it was the only thing stopping her from bleeding out completely. She spoke up when she heard her baby crying, after I'd found her under the window casing. She asked me to take care of her, made me promise. I tried to ask about family, but she told me they had none. All victims of the war. She said they were cursed, her family, and that she'd seen me fight off the death eaters. She was convinced I was blessed, and that if I took in her daughter, maybe she could escape the curse. I tried to see if I could bring her back with me, but she was severed almost completely… the wall was more holding her together than crushing her. I stayed until she was dead." He looks down miserably. "Now you know."

Stunned, I can do nothing but put my arms around my husband and hold him tightly. "All you had to do was tell me," I whisper. "You want to adopt her? We'll adopt her."

"We don't have to."

I back up and look into his eyes. There's something there, something akin to the foreign light I used to be shocked at seeing early in our relationship. A new part of him is slowly coming alive. "Yes," I reply steadily, "I think we do."

"I'm getting too old for this," Severus grumbles as he rolls out of bed. "By rights, you should do two to my one."

"You're only 52," I say sleepily. "Quit whining."

"Ow… bloody," I can see him walking unevenly towards the door. He seems to genuinely be in pain.

"Is your hip _still_ hurting from that curse? Maybe I should—" But Severus is already out the door, over to the crib and picking up the newest member of our unit.

"Now, you know this will never do. My joints are far too stiff for this, and that other one in there is much too lazy to do his share. You're simply going to have to learn to sleep by our schedule." Miraculously, the baby stops crying. "Thank you. Now Vin, I'm only going to stay with you a moment, because I need my rest as much or more than you do, so try to be a good little terror and fall asleep."

Moments later, Severus comes back into our bedroom and shuts the door, save for a tiny crack. I am sitting up in bed, arms crossed, waiting.

"She's down… for the moment," He says, falling back into bed.

"Well, look at you."

"What?" He looks over at me, expression akin to the fabled cat who swallowed that canary.

"You're already a parent." He waves me off, but it only causes me to grin wider. "No, you are. I'm surprised you haven't started referring to yourself in the third person, as 'Daddy'!"

Sev makes a disgusted noise. "Please! I could never be a 'Daddy'… that's so…" He is searching for something derogatory, and finally he settles on "…_You_."

I try not to grin even wider. He's right; I _am_ more the 'Daddy' type. "So then what will you be?" He tried to act disinterested, but I poke him hard in the side and he sighs.

"I… Well, I always thought 'Papa' was charming." I nod. He's absolutely right; he's a 'Papa'. Another thought strikes me.

"What did you call her back there?" I cross my arms, waiting, and Sev looks over at me sheepishly.

"Well, I was thinking about names-- we can't very well call her 'The Baby' for her entire life, can we?—and Anna came by and suggested we go Shakespearian. So I was thinking, and I kept landing on Lavinia…"

"_Lavinia?_" I keep my voice to a loud whisper, so as not to wake the baby, but it gets the point across. "Please tell me you're joking, that you're not considering naming our daughter after a character from _Titus Andronicus_!?"

"Lavinia is a perfectly acceptable name, and she was a perfectly acceptable character!"

"She was raped and then had her hands and tongue cut off!"

"She was the innocent in a batch of sinners. The only one who remained pure!" I glare stonily for a few seconds, mulling it over. It _is_ a nice name.

"Fine," I say after a while. "But I get to choose the middle name."

Severus smiles, knowing he's won. "Any ideas?"

"Minerva." I am not budging. My old head of house was like a firm yet caring mother to me, and is now one of my best friends and staunchest supporters. And I know Severus loves her as much as I do, even if he won't admit it. He rolls his eyes.

"She'll be trilled," He says, resigned. I grin.

"Lavinia Minerva Snape," I say wistfully. "It _is_ nice."

"You don't want to hyphenate the last name?" I shake my head.

"You found her, she should have your name." I know how much it means to my husband, and I know he's never had a fondness of the Potter name anyhow.

"Thank you, Harry," He says, very solemnly, and I wrap my arm around the back of his neck and kiss him deeply. Moments later, we are torn apart by a blood-curdling wail. I sigh, and Severus grins wickedly.

"Your turn!"

I glare menacingly at him on my way out the door. "She _definitely_ deserves your name!"

_Thanks for reading, kids. Let me know what you think!_


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